2009 EXPO Conference Presenters (as of 5/13/09)
Alexandra Robinson, the 2009 STN EXPO chair, is currently the transportation director of the San Diego Unified School District and is the past-president of the California Association of School Transportation Officials. She is the former NAPT Region 5 director and currently serves as the NAPT Special Needs Committee co-chair. She is also a NHTSA-certified child passenger saftey technician.
Charley Kennington began his career in school busing as a transportation director in Gonzales, Texas, in May 1986. Two years later, he became director of Waco school transportation for Durham Transportation, with which he served until July 1999, when he was appointed to the Texas Department of Public Safety as Program Administrator of School Bus Transportation. In 2007, after stepping down as Texas' state director and president-elect of NASDPTS, Charley became responsible for Transportation Solutions with Region 4 ESC in Houston. He has also held board positions with the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation and the national special needs conferences, as well as with the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute and Texas Operation Lifesaver.
Cheryl Wolf has been in pupil transportation for 25 years and currently serves as transportation supervisor for Lafayette School Corporation, Lafayette, Ind. She is on the Board of Advisors and the tenured faculty for the National Conference and Exhibition on Transporting Students with Disabilities and Preschoolers, NAPT Board of Directors representing Region 3. She also is chair of the writing committee on “Transportation for Students with Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs” for the 2010 National Transportation Specifications & Procedures, and an NAPT associate staff instructor. Cheryl was on the writing committee for the NHTSA “Child Passenger Safety Training for School Buses” curriculum, as well as the 2008 revision. She was the recipient of the 2008 NAPT Sure-Lok Safe and Secure Special Needs Transportation Award.
Dale Goby is the business leader of special projects and former pupil transportation consultant for Oakland Schools in Waterford, Mich. He has 35 years experience in school transportation, safety and teaching across Michigan and Illinois. He currently owns and operates his own school transportation consultant company, Goby & Associates.
Since 1985, Denny Coughlin has been the fleet operations manager for Minneapolis Public Schools. He plays an active role in Minnesota, both at the association level and having served on the Governor's Task Force for School Bus Safety. Denny has developed a number of training programs for school bus drivers. He has trained fire and rescue, law enforcement and emergency medical personnel from all over the country on school bus construction and design and proper extrication procedures.
Dr. Duane L. Dobbert is a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and Capella University with 35 years of experience in the criminal justice field. He has trained law enforcement officers, educators, mental health professionals, and attorneys across the United States consulted nature of sexual predators and how to identify them. Most recently, Dr. Dobbert authored the training program, "School Bus Drivers: The 1st Line of Defense Against Sexual Predators." He is also the author of several books.
Dr. Lawrence Schneider is a research professor and head of the Biosciences Division at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). For the past 25 years, he has been involved in the study of injury causation and occupant protection with the objective of improving the level of crash safety available to occupants seated in wheelchairs, and the development of national and international standards related to the design and performance of wheelchair securement devices, occupant restraint systems, and transit wheelchairs. Schneider worked with school transporters, principally NAPT, NSTA and NASDPTS — in the development of Section 19 of the ANSI/RESNA wheelchair securement standard, WC/Volume 1 Wheelchairs for Use in Motor Vehicles. He was also the principle author of SAE J2249 Wheelchair Tiedowns and Occupant Restraint Systems for Use in Motor Vehicles. He is the current Chair of the RESNA standards Committee for Wheelchairs and Transportation.
Dr. Linda Bluth is renowned throughout the school bus industry as a national speaker and writer on issues involving special needs and student transportation. Her day – and sometimes night – job is that of director of the Office of Quality Assurance and Monitoring in the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services. Among her many pupil transportation feats was that of chairperson for the Infants, Toddlers and Preschool Writing Committee at the 14th National Congress on School Transportation in 2005 and receiving NAPT’s Distinguished Service Award in 1999. She is currently the president-elect of NAPT.
Jean M. Zimmerman is the supervisor of Occupational and Physical Therapy in the school District of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, Fla. Jean has presented at numerous state, national and international conferences on various therapy/transportation related topics. Jean is a tenured faculty member of the Transportation of Students with Disabilities Conference and serves as a National Advisor and lead judge for the Special Needs Rodeo. She is a certified passenger safety technician and was a member of the original and the revision committee for NHTSA to develop the School Bus Specific CSRS curriculum. Jean is currently serving on three writing committees for the 2010 National Congress. Jean has presented on safe transportation with Dr. Marilyn Bull at the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine International Meetings, Orlando, New Orleans and Montreal. She was invited to speak at the American Physical Therapy Association’s National meeting in February 2008 and will be speaking there again in June 2009. Within the PT profession, Jean is recognized for her two-day workshop she presents to therapists and transportation staff. Jean is on the board of directors for the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI) serving as the Product Development Committee chairperson. Jean is the vice president for “Wheels For Kids” a local organization that has raised over $100,000 for wheelchairs for children with special needs that don’t have insurance or Medicaid.
Bio of Joe Scesny to follow
Justin Wilczynski brings to the STN EXPO more than 12 years of experience in transportation management and leadership. He was recently named transportation director at Franklin Township Community School Corporation after serving the last several years as the assistant transportation director at Clark-Pleasant Community Schools in Indianapolis. Prior, he worked for Laidlaw Education Services of Michigan. Justin has and currently serves as the School Transportation Association of Indiana chairman of the state bus rodeo, professional development committee, regional professional development and growth committee for NAPT. Outside of transportation, Justin works with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Indiana, Special Olympics of Indiana, National Exchange Club and local civic groups. Justin is also finishing his degree in engineering and technology from Purdue University.
Kathleen Furneaux is the executive director of the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute in and has been involved in the pupil transportation industry for more than 23 years as a substitute school bus monitor on a special needs route, a driver and, ultimately, a transportation director. A nationally-recognized speaker and trainer, Kathleen is a certified NHTSA child passenger safety technician, a master school bus instructor with the New York State Department of Education and a certified 19A examiner for the New York State DMV.
As president and COO of Traxis Financial Group, Kenneth Kaminsky directs all operations, sales and marketing activities, strategic planning and financial forecasting for Blue Bird Financial Services and NABI Financial Services. He is the former vice president of business development for the Trade Payables Services division of General Electric Commercial Finance and federal market leader for GE’s Government Financial Services. Kaminsky was also chief growth officer for Orbian Corporation managing all front-end activities and sales initiatives.
Launi Schmutz has been in transportation for 21 years and is currently the school transportation supervisor for Washington County School Pupil District in St. George, Utah. The past-president of the Utah Association for Pupil Transportation is also a member of the NAPT Board of Directors as director at large. She has written and received many grants for her school district and is active in the NAPT's Special Needs Committee and in the Safe Kids Coalition as well as the Washington County Safety Counsel.
Mark Hinson is the assistant superintendent of Human Resources for Adams 12 Five Star Schools, an urban school district in the Denver metro area, serving 40,000 students and 5,000 employees. With more than 25 years of experience, he presents a variety of programs on local, regional and national levels in the areas of human resource services and school transportation. He is past-president of the Central Florida Human Resource Association and past-conference chair for the Florida State Human Resource Conference. He is also a consultant with the Education Compliance Group. Mark received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Central Florida.
Dr. Myra Crouch has 15 plus years experience in managing Head Start and Early Head Start programs. She currently serves as the Director of Education and Technical Assistance Programs for STG International, Inc. She is former Head Start Administrator and served as Project Director for Ohio’s Head Start-Public School Transition Project. She brings a wealth of experience in human resources, information systems and collaboration. Dr. Crouch has a Masters in Developmental Psychology from The Ohio State University and Doctorate in Applied Psychology from Columbus University.
A seasoned presenter, Nancy Netherland is a training and technical assistance specialist in the areas of program management and design, child care administration, professional development, and transportation services for the Academy of Educational Development Migrant Head Start Quality Improvement Center. For over 35 years, she has provided comprehensive child care services as a teacher, volunteer, center director, parent educator, field supervisor, and trainer specializing in preschool-aged children. She also developed a competency curriculum to prepare student teachers. An Early Childhood Health and Safety instructor with the Red Cross and a certified child safety seat technician, Nancy developed “Paseos Seguros,” a manual for transportation managers used by Migrant Head Start programs nationwide, as part of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Transportation Advisory Work Group. The organization also recently completed Frequently Asked Questions 2001 as an aid to Head Start programs implementing federal transportation regulations.
Pauline M Gervais is Executive Director of Transportation for Denver Public Schools the second largest school district in Colorado. She has been involved in transportation for over thirty years. In her current position she is responsible for all aspects of transportation. Over the past eleven years her focus and passion has been in the area of special education transportation.
Pauline has presented at local, state and national conferences. She is the past president of the Colorado State Pupil Transportation Association and currently serves as a trustee. She has taught the advanced course on Transporting Students with Disabilities at the Colorado Department of Education’s Transportation Summer Workshop. Pauline serves on the Board of Advisors of the National Conference and Exhibition on Transporting Students with Disabilities and Preschoolers and is a Tenured Faculty Member.
Peggy Burns is former in-house counsel with Adams 12 Five Star Schools, a large suburban school district in Colorado. She is also the founder of Education Compliance Group Inc., an organization committed to addressing legal compliance issues in education. A former high school English and forensics teacher, and licensed attorney for 27 years, Peggy has devoted the past 21years specifically to legal issues affecting public education. For the last 14 years, Peggy has focused significantly on legal issues related to both special education and school transportation. She has trained, and served as a consultant to, educators and pupil transportation personnel in school districts in a number of states, and has presented at many state, regional, and national conferences. Peggy has served on the National Board of Advisors of the National Conference and Exhibition on Transporting Students with Disabilities for the past 10 years, and is a Tenured Faculty Member. She is also a contributing editor for School Transportation News. She is a member of the Special Education Committee of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, and Past President of the Colorado Council of School Attorneys. Peggy is the author of several training video programs, The Road to Compliance for Special Needs Drivers, Putting the Brakes on Harassment, Training for School Bus Drivers; Steering Clear of Liability: Training for School Bus Drivers, and Confidential Records: Training for School Bus Drivers; and with Jim Ellis and Lenny Bernstein, she has authored the book School Bus Stops: A Safety Guide for Pupil Transporters, and an Information Report prepared for the National State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, “Sharing Student Health and Medical Information with School Transporters.” In addition, she is editor of the Reporter, “Legal Routes.”
Pete Meslin has been in the transportation field for 26 years. For the last 5 he’s been Director of Transportation at Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Southern California. He also serves on STN’s editorial board and has written several articles for national journals. He is also a frequent speaker at national, regional, and state conferences. Involving transportation in appropriately supporting students with special needs is one of Pete’s passions. To that end, he is currently chair of the California Association of School Transportation Officials (CASTO) special needs committee and is updating the state guide for transporting students with disabilities. He is also a member of the NCST National Standards Special Needs Writing Committee. Pete’s other area of focus is creative and efficient transportation management practices. He has presented his practical ideas on topics like data use, leadership, problem solving, and bringing about systemic change. Recently Pete has been called upon to share his focus on operational efficiency with School Board Associations, SELPAs, and various school districts’ administrations.
Peter Lawrence began his school bus industry career in 1988 as a school bus mechanic. He has been a school bus driver, group leader, head mechanic, bus driver trainer/safety coordinator, head bus driver and currently is the director of transportation at Fairport Central Schools. Peter holds degrees in Automotive Technology, Managing Human Resources, and a master's degree in Management. Currently, he is attending SUNY Brockport to attain his Certificate of Advanced Study in School Business Administration. Peter is a nationally Certified Director of Pupil Transportation (CDPT), through the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT). He has taken over 25 NAPT professional development courses and teaches regularly for NAPT across the nation.
Dick Fischer began career in transportation as a school bus driver in 1952. By the age of 23, he was director of transportation for a California school district. During his tenure as a corporate director of safety and training at Associated Bus Co. and later at ARA Transportation, Fischer started nine federally-mandated school bus integration systems, the largest at Los Angeles Unified School District. He began his own world-wide school bus consultant service in 1977, performing studies, training staff, investigating accidents and providing expert witness testimony. Fischer testified in 1972 before Congress on School Bus Standard 17, which described the federal government's role in pupil transportation. He received a letter of recognition from President Nixon in 1968 for his efforts in developing National School Bus Safety Week, and was given the National Council Distinguished Service Safety award in 1996. Fischer received NAPT Distinguished Service Award in 2004 and was inducted into the NAPT Hall of Fame in 2007.
Robert Pudlewski is a consultant with more than 40 years of experience in the school bus industry.. The past two decades were spent with Laidlaw Education Services and First Student. Now retired, his responsibilities included leadership of functional areas within the company’s operations, procurement, equipment technology and fleet maintenance. Bob is a recipient of the NSTA Golden Merit Award and the New York State Contractor of the Year award.
Robin Leeds became an independent transportation consultant in 2004 after a 22-year career as executive director of the Connecticut School Transportation Association. Her primary client is the National School Transportation Association, with members comprised of owners and operators of private school bus contracting companies, for which she works on a number of government relations and communications projects. She specializes in regulatory and compliance issues, and provides technical expertise to NSTA’s Congressional lobbyists. Robin has been involved in the National Conference on School Transportation since 1990 and has been a writing chair for the past three conferences. She has worked on two transportation studies for the National Academy of Sciences and is a member of the Transportation Research Board’s School Transportation subcommittee. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI), and writes the “Eye on Washington” column for School Transportation News.
Robin has been recognized by both School Bus Fleet and STN for her contributions to school transportation. She is a popular speaker and media resource.
In her spare time, Robin is an arbitrator for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Lemon Law program, a volunteer for FoodShare, and a passionate dancer.
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, the devastation was more than anyone could have imagined. Images of the city drowning in the waters of the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain and of the dire conditions at the Louisiana Superdome and Convention Center showed the world that the United States was ill-equipped and unprepared to deal with a natural disaster of such epic proportions. In spite of questionable leadership on many levels, one leader undeniably changed the course of the disaster: Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, the commanding general of Joint Task Force Katrina. A native of Lakeland, Louisiana, Honoré, the “Category 5 General,” swept into New Orleans, surveyed the destruction and took charge, bringing the city back under control and starting the long process of putting it back together.
With a trademark swagger and commanding personality, Honoré is a no-nonsense career soldier who always speaks his mind. While in charge of the entire Army east of the Mississippi, he brought leadership to New Orleans, reminding soldiers to lower their weapons and help those in need, creating a more positive atmosphere as rebuilding began.
Since his command of Joint Task Force Katrina, Honoré has brought the lessons of Katrina to organizations around the country. An expert on preparedness and responding to catastrophe, he offers insights into protecting people and organizations, outlining the principles necessary to lead through unexpected and uncontrollable crises.
Honoré’s lengthy career has taken him around the world, from Korea to Germany and the entire United States. He has many awards and distinctions, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and a Bronze Star, among others.
In June 2009, he will publish his first book, Survival: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family from Disasters.
The man that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called a “John Wayne dude,” Honoré has proven that by taking charge and creating a culture of preparedness, whether as an individual, a group, a city, or an entire country, unexpected crises can be managed and their impacts can be minimized.
Sue Shutrump is supervisor of OT and PT services for the Trumbull County (Ohio) Educational Service Center, a position she has held since 1983. Her interest in safe transportation of people with disabilities came when working as a therapist specializing in traumatic brain injury at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital back in 1980. She saw first hand the effects of automobile accidents, and since that time has continued to strive for safe transportation scenarios for the people with whom she has had the privilege to work.
She is the 2007 recipient of the NAPT Sure-Lok Safe and Secure Special Needs Transportation Award. She is a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and served on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s curriculum writing committee for Child Passenger Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses as well as the recent revision committee. She was a member of the Infants Toddlers and Preschoolers Operations Writing Committee for the 13th, 14th and, presently, 15th National Conference on School Transportation. She also served on the Special Needs Operations Writing Committee for the 14th NCST and is acting as vice-chair of this committee for the 15th NCST. She served on the Ohio Department of Education committee to revise the Standards for Transportation of Children with Disabilities and to write the state’s manual on transporting students with special needs. She has served as an expert witness and has presented numerous seminars across the country. She has served as co-chairperson of the OT/PT/Transporter Forum since 1995. She has authored articles in “Exceptional Parent,” “Rehab Review,” “OT Practice” and “The Israel Journal of Occupational Therapy.”
Susan Hunt has worked in school bus transportation for almost 30 years, half this time with a school district and the other half in Head Start. Presently, her responsibilities as lead transportation specialist at the
Oregon Child Development Coalition are in training, technical assistance and program and system development. This Head Startagency operates programs in 12 counties and serves approximately 3,500 infant, toddler and preschool children. Susan is a certified child passenger safety technician and is certified as a behind-the-wheel and classroom instructor for school bus drivers in Oregon. She has shared her expertise with other Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs across the nation and serves on a transportation work group with other regional Head Start programs in Oregon.
Theresa Anderson has more than 18 years of pupil transportation experience as a driver, scheduler, special needs transportation coordinator, route manager and her current position. A transportation consultant, Theresa has presented at local, state and national conferences and currently chairs the Colorado Special Needs Committee. She is a past president of the Colorado State Pupil Transportation Association (CSPTA) and currently serves as trustee. The Colorado Special Needs committee recently completed a joint venture with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to create a Special Needs certification process for the state of Colorado. She also co-authored the 2005 book "White Knuckle Rides."
Tim Ammon of Management Partnership Services, Inc., is a frequent presenter at industry conferences on performance measurement, cost control and operations management. He holds a master’s degree in public administration with a specialization in urban management and has evaluated a wide variety of student transportation operations in over a 10-year career as a consultant. Tim’s expertise includes system implementation and use as well as evaluating bus routes and schedules.
Tina Heily is the author and developer of the nationally-recognized EPIC Transportation Safety Education Curriculum for Pre-School Children. She collaborated with the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program to provide grantees with a developmentally-appropriate curriculum focusing on the safety skills and concepts for safe transportation practices. A veteran of the early childhood education field for the past 26 years, 14 of which with Enterprise for Progress in the Community (EPIC), she is well known throughout the Head Start community and provides training, technical assistance and presentations to educators and transportation staff at the local, state and national level.